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A mother's nightmare: 'She's not coming back'

Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017.(Photo: Albert Cesare / Advertiser)

JaQui'ta Robinson showed on her phone the last picture she took with her 14-year-old daughter who was shot and killed near Bellingrath Middle School.

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Ja'Querria Timmons, 14, was shot and killed near Bellingrath Middle School on Monday.

Robinson and her daughter Ja'Querria Timmons were at a funeral in the photo. Ja'Querria's death was the second homicide in the family since Easter.

Ja'Querria was shot on the front lawn of St. James Missionary Baptist Church No. 2 on South Court Street. The eighth-grader was leaving school with her cousin and waiting for a ride home Monday afternoon, her mother said.

Robinson feels as if she will wake up at any moment from her nightmare, but she knows that will never happen.

"It was such a shock. I keep thinking this is just a dream, but she's not coming back," she said.

Robinson and Ja'Querria's father sat together by Ja'Querria's hospital bed on Monday as she fought for her life in the emergency room. She died in surgery, Robinson said. After she was rushed to Baptist South hospital, Robinson said Ja'Querria's heart stopped but had been resuscitated. She died less than an hour after she was shot.

Montgomery Police Maj. Scott Tatum, commander of the Criminal Investigation and Special Operations Division, said Ja'Querria was standing with a group of students in front of the church when "an individual from another school came to the crowd and introduced a handgun. During the introduction, the suspected shooter pulled the trigger."

The small-caliber handgun that killed Ja'Querria was fired one time into her chest's left side. She was treated at the scene about 3:15 p.m.

The weapon was not at school during the day, Tatum said, and it was not known how the person who brought the gun obtained the firearm.

MPD talked with several witnesses, helping officers determine people of interest. Officers were able to identify the suspected shooter, a juvenile, who was taken into custody Monday night. The shooter is a 14-year-old boy, Ja'Querria's mother said.

He is accused of murder and is being held at the youth facility on Air Base Boulevard. A second person of interest has been identified but had not been charged by Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday afternoon, Robinson was surrounded by several friends, family members and her god-family who cooked lunch on the stove and who wrapped a consoling arm around Robinson on the couch.

"Police say they have somebody. That he's at a youth facility, but he took my daughter's life," Robinson said. "He's 14, but he knew what he was doing. He called her to him and shot her so that was his intention. So why is he still at a youth facility?"

Ja'Querria was full of laughter, smiles, fun, energy and a bright future, Robinson said. She loved art. In fact, even though Ja'Querria tried out and made the Bellingrath cheerleading squad, she decided she would rather focus on her drawing than join the team. She was preparing to go to college, and Robinson said she was ready to support her in whatever she chose to do.

Two of her teachers, Quanteria Battle and Tristiana Mays who taught Ja'Querria said she was a "model student for everyone."

"She just had a great personality. She was a wonderful student and a pleasure to teach," said Battle, a science teacher at Bellingrath who said she will never forget Ja'Querria's bright smile lighting up her classroom.

Ja'Querria was shot on the front lawn of St. James Missionary Baptist Church No. 2 on South Court Street. The eighth-grader was leaving school with her cousin and waiting for a ride home Monday afternoon, her mother said.(Photo: Provided)

On Tuesday, Battle and Mays, who is the physical education coach at Bellingrath, said the students and the staff were in shock. Several counselors were on hand during the day, and a private area was set up for students and teachers to talk or be comforted.

"The students expect to leave school and see their friends the next day," said Mays, who said she could always depend on Ja'Querria to help her during class. "As a teacher, you expect to see your students come back in the morning and I know I won't ever see Ja'Querria again.

"But I will never forget her go-get-it mentality and will always cherish her drive for what she wanted to do. She will continue to be my motivation and she will truly be missed."

That same desire to help and dependability had given her mother strength.

When Robinson worked at night, Ja'Querria was the one who looked after her younger sisters, bathing them, dressing them, feeding them and getting them ready for bed. Before she'd leave, they'd watch anything that was on the Disney Channel.

"She loved taking care of her little sisters," Robinson said. "She so wanted to go to Lanier next year like I did and her brother did. She was a straight-A student. Always did good in school."

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Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Albert Cesare / Advertiser

Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Albert Cesare / Advertiser

People look on from Bellingrath Middle School while Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Albert Cesare / Advertiser

Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Albert Cesare / Advertiser

Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Albert Cesare / Advertiser

Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Albert Cesare / Advertiser

Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Albert Cesare / Advertiser

Montgomery Police investigate the shooting death of a 14-year-old Bellingrath Middle School student at St. James Missionary Baptist Church next to Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, May 1, 2017. Albert Cesare / Advertiser

Mayor Todd Strange offered his condolences to Ja'Querria's family and thanked the community for its cooperation with police and MPS.

"We have a young child that we grieve with the family for. Our hearts go out, not only the city administration but our entire city," Strange said. "We've had too much violence in Montgomery over the last several weeks.

"We have got to find a way for all of us to come together. What we find is that there's a lot of good organizations doing good things in our community relative to youth. We've got to do a better job of coordinating all of that."

Strange said he has recently developed a Youth Task Force made of ministers and community leaders to combat youth violence. In addition, police have increased officer presence around Bellingrath and other schools and continue to make surprise visits at certain schools to check lockers and vehicles for weapons and drugs.

"We will continue our sweeps of the schools, use of metal detectors and things like that for the duration of the school year," said MPD Chief Ernest Finley.